CHANGE ACCESSORIES TO CHANGE YOUR LOOK

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This is the current status of our kitchen. I haven’t quite gotten around to adding in Spring touches just yet, but I’ll get there soon. We live in Canada, and there’s still a TON of snow outside, which could be here for another month, maybe even two. I’m definitely itching for warmer temps, although it is unseasonably warm this week…I’m crossing my fingers the snow will melt and miraculously Spring will come early. However, since it’s still technically winter here, I’m keeping the look a little more neutral and subdued for now. Although I’ve shared our kitchen with you in other posts – I decided to do a roundup of the evolution of this space to show you how you can change accessories to change your look. Just like when you get dressed, you can change your entire look simply by changing your bag and shoes.This is probably the most neutral our kitchen has been since we built our home. I recently brought my black lanterns in here to use in front of the windows, just to add some contrast for visual punctuation. They play off of the pendant lighting and the black island and I really like how they draw your eye into the space.Below is the original look I created in our kitchen when we first built our home 7 years ago – please excuse the photo quality! I wanted an ‘old-world-European-meets-modern feeling’, hence the absence of upper cabinets and the large scale range hood. Using art and accessories to infuse color into the space, it gives a collected, curated look and that was exactly what I wanted at the time.This shot below is a little bit brighter, and if you notice, the pendant light over the island is gold here. I painted it myself with acrylic paint and a brush.Here is the kitchen from my Christmas home tour of 2015 (see more of this tour here). I took down the black quatrefoil mirror and replaced it with a frameless one, as I had wanted to brighten the space a little bit. The leaning artwork was removed for a more neutral feeling, to let the greens take center stage.I knew this look was not quite complete, since the new mirror did not balance the artwork on the left  – that print is one of my favorites and we’ve had it since our first home.Going from Christmas to the following Spring, the accessory focus was still on using color, keeping my blue and white chinoiserie vases and ginger jars.The floating shelf and pendant light were always temporary, and they both were eventually replaced…With these! We built the counter-to-ceiling open bookshelf last Summer, and it was one of the best decisions we made. We are DIYers and I always love a new project and to find ways to bring new life to our home. You can read all about this project here.
The new brass pendant over the sink now balances out the main light fixture. Talking about accessories and changing your look, I like to keep the focus on these shelves clean and simple, using all white accessories, glass and little bit of silver. I want to display my favorite pieces but I don’t want a cluttered look, so I like to keep it neutral – this is an easy place to create an overwhelming, messy look, and that’s the last thing you want in a kitchen.You can see with the minimal amount of color, the kitchen now feels bigger, brighter and has a fresher look and feel. That mirror on the right was still bothering me and I couldn’t find a matching one. I also couldn’t decide if I even wanted a pair of mirrors or some other type of accessory to accent our tiled wall. More on that in a minute!
Last year in my Summer Home Tour, I went with a heavy dose of blue and white. Notice how very simple elements like place mats and tableware can add a jolt of color, even if it’s temporary. Visit my tour here.Let’s get back to discussing the mirror that was bugging me…I finally decided on wall sconces, that are the perfect addition to our kitchen. They’re not electrical however, that would have been too difficult to install since they’re on an exterior wall. They hold candles, which I love, but I’ve decided I’ll be using LED candles with a remote control since I have to climb up there every time to light them! Kind of a pain..Even though we removed the art and mirrors, the kitchen still has a collected look, which I personally love. The sconces are traditional in style, and have that European flare that was always the underlying concept for this kitchen design. My blue and white collection works beautifully with all of my warm metals as well. You can see more of this kitchen tour, with the sconces here.Moving on to my Fall home tour, I kept the blue and white, and added touches of gold as a nod to the rich tones of the season, building on the layers of warm metals. You can see more of my Fall home tour here.The yellow-gold wheat was just a few dollars and they added the perfect touch for Fall. The rich color paired with the blue and white is vibrant and adds a warm, yet invigorating energy to the kitchen, which I love.Last Christmas, I went with a similar look to the year prior, but I went only with greenery and removed all of the blue and white.Since I have so much blue and white around our home, I wanted the focus to be on feel of the natural elements with some metallic touches added. See more of my Christmas home tour here.As much as I love my blue and white ginger jars and vases, I love and can appreciate an all-neutral space just as much. You know me by now, and how much I love to move things around from space to space. My last blog post talked about this exact topic. In case you missed it, I restyled our foyer console table with four different looks, all with accessories I already own. You can read all about that here.
Back to our present look…So while I wait for the grass to peek through the snow and buds to grow on the trees, I’ll enjoy our kitchen like this for the next little while. I’m not sure what Spring will bring to this space – it may stay neutral, or it may have some punches of color added back in. We’ll have to wait and see :)

Below I’ve linked many products seen throughout this post for your convenience. **MAKE SURE TO CLICK AT THE BOTTOM OF THE THUMBNAIL IMAGE TO SHOP**

SHOP ACCESSORIES HERE :

 

SHOP LIGHTING AND MIRROR AND STOOLS HERE :

PIN THE IMAGE BELOW FOR YOUR REFERENCE!

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4 Comments

  1. tamaraanka says:

    Thank you so much, I’m so glad you like it! Thanks for stopping by!

  2. Great, advice and I absolutely love the vent hood! Keep up the great work!

  3. tamaraanka says:

    Marty thank you so much!I appreciate your kind words!! Happy weekend! xo

  4. Marty Oravetz says:

    Love you kitchen and love all the changes you can make with your accessories.

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